Is This Leadership?

The association representing the teachers of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District long ago settled its labor differences.  Its membership is now working under new contract arrangements.

However, two high-level, well-paid bargaining groups representing principals and supervisors have not yet settled their labor disputes.

Moreover, negotiations have stalled.  Principals and supervisors have declared an impasse and are preparing to enter formal mediation.
 
At this writing, no information has been forthcoming as to why these leadership teams of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District are unable to come to terms with the board of education.

How could this be?

According to Board President Patrick Breslin, their contract period “runs concurrently” with that of the Bridgewater-Raritan Education Association.

Yet the BREA has settled with the school board after a nearly two-year-long period of protracted negotiations, stalled talks, demonstrations, mediation, and a very active presence at board of education meetings.

Although most of what occurred during deliberations between the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education and the BREA was discussed in private, there came a point where both parties released information outlining in detail their respective positions. 

At one juncture in that process, publicly released data morphed into a point-counterpoint public debate. 

Additionally, BREA President Steve Beatty was not at all bashful to stand up at the microphone before the full board and to make the stance of his membership clear.

No matter how much one may take issue with the various positions that BREA leadership held during its negotiations with the BR-BOE, one has to respect its willingness to go public when the pressure was on.

No such strategy is visible in negotiations with the principals and supervisors. 

Indeed, do you know the names of those who are negotiating on behalf of these small groups?  Did you even know that a stalemate has been reached?

The BR-BOE has not released data on what it has offered to the leadership teams in its schools.  Nor has it disclosed what the principals and supervisors are demanding – or why this thing is now in mediation.

From a fundamental point-of-view, it becomes easily arguable that this district’s principal/supervisor leadership team makes it a practice to piggy-back upon the results and hard work previously negotiated by the BREA – then goes beyond in its demands.

Principals and supervisors should have settled and set the example long before the BREA ever concluded its own agreements with the BR-BOE.

One can easily wonder why, indeed, there even are bargaining units for principals and supervisors.  Technical, certain staff, and other members of the management team in the Bridgewater-Raritan School District do not enjoy the privilege of such representation.

People footing the bill have the right to know the specifics of what the school board is negotiating with its principals and supervisors.

This is not a matter of executive privilege.